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Tag: Sustainable Development Goals

  • Stanbic IBTC, CYCDI advise youths on SDGs

    Stanbic IBTC Bank, in collaboration with the Creative Youth Community Development Initiative (CYCDI), and Covenant University, Ota, have engaged the youth on better understanding of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their role in their attainment.

    The partners, in commemoration of the 2018 Global People’s Summit, organised a session at Covenant University recently, at which financial literacy was a major takeout. The Global People’s Summit is organised by the Humanity Lab Foundation in partnership with the United Nations Office of Partnerships. It provides a platform for people and organisations around the world, especially the youth, to participate via a digital platform in the conversation to make change happen in society. It fosters collaborations, shares best practices, promotes innovation, builds community, celebrates success, influences global agendas, and finds new ways to translate vision into action.

    Originator of the Global People’s Summit, Hazami Barmada, stated: “We amplify messages of people around the world and conversations and connect dots in the virtual space to enable making the world a better place a reality. Far too often the conversations around social impact happen in exclusive spaces, so people that have the privilege and the luxury to have access to passports and ability to travel have the ability to influence conversations. The change-the-world conversation should not be bound or limited to exclusivity.”

    In his welcome address, Vice Chancellor, Covenant University, Professor Aaron Atayero, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof Akan Williams, expressed the institution’s delight to partner with reputable organisations to foster youth development, which aligns with the university’s core goal of raising a new cadre of leadership in Nigeria. He said the institution is committed to making the youth to develop self-belief, which will enable them become change agents and play a pivotal role in changing the narrative about Nigeria.

    Stanbic IBTC Bank, the official partner to CYCDI InnoCreativa Youth Hub, made a presentation on Funding Creativity and Innovation to achieve SDGs. Head, Personal Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Nkolika Okoli, said Goal 3 of the SDGs and thrust of this year’s summit, Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, is in line with the Stanbic IBTC Group’s status as an end-to-end financial services solutions provider. In this role, the group caters for the needs of its clients at every stage of life through bespoke products and services. The bank’s product, the Stanbic BluEdge Youth Account, for instance, is targeted at helping students and the youth to have a healthy start in life by cultivating a savings culture very early in life.

    She emphasised that having a desired future entails being financially literate, which is essential to taking informed decisions and actions, adding that the Group is ready and willing to provide support and forge partnerships towards the socio-economic development of Nigeria.

  • Kaduna to spend N1.2bn on SDGs in 2018

    Kaduna to spend N1.2bn on SDGs in 2018

    Kaduna State Planning and Budget Commission has earmarked N1.2 billion for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programmes in 2018.

    A document, obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Tuesday, showed that the commission was allocated a total N3.19 billion, of which N2.76 billion is for capital expenditure and N439.48 for recurrent.

    It is expected that the N2.76 billion would be raised from grants, concessional multilateral loans and credit.

    A breakdown of the capital expenditure indicated that the commission would spend N53 million on SDGs summit and N100 million each on poverty mapping exercise and Kaduna leadership fellows.

    Read also: Kaduna Statistics Bureau to spend N152.97m on surveys

    Also, N45.4 million was earmarked for sector retreat and statewide performance review, N106.62 on review and expansion of monitoring and evaluation platform and N250 million on monitoring and impact evaluation study.

    Similarly, N9.98 million was allocated for the development and review of sector implementation result framework, and N162.6 million on the conduct and review of state and local government plans policy document.

    The document further stated that N11 million would be spent on books for e-library, N310 million on counterpart funding and N100 million as support to World Bank public sector governance reforms and development projects.

    It added that Kaduna Emergency Nutrition Action Plan (KADENAP) was allocated N300 million and that N7.68 million would be spent on the update of Kaduna State in Perspective book.

    NAN

  • Buhari warns those fanning embers of division

    Buhari warns those fanning embers of division

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday warned those fanning embers of division to refrain from the unacceptable tendencies.
    He advised them to retrace their steps and learn how to live together with one another.
    President Buhari said this in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital at the 33rd convocation ceremonies of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN).
    He cautioned against excessive display of intolerance, rancour, mutual suspicion and all such acts capable of causing social unrest in the nation.
    “This government will respect and recognise legitimate aspirations of the citizens but this should be done in good faith, within the bounds of rationality and without infringing on the rights of others. I urge all to shun violence as it is only in an atmosphere of peace that we can make true progress,” he added.
    Represented by the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Rasheed Abubakar, the president noted that “our nation is on the verge of economic recovery, having just exited a short but painful recession.
    “To sustain this recovery and for all of us to experience real change in our living conditions, we must be ready to build on the
    achievements already recorded. All must be involved in productive activities in every area of the economy that we are engaged in.
    The president also said that his administration would in the next few weeks convene a summit of stakeholders on the education sector
    He said, “Government is fully aware of the numerous challenges confronting the education sector in the country. One thing is
    incontrovertible. Sustainable human development begins with education as it is the fuel that energies government efforts in every other human endeavour.
    “Nigeria was once ranked high in the standard of its education, but the fortunes of that sector have nosedived in the past couple of
    decades. This has been a serious source of concern for stakeholders, as the country still harbours millions of school-aged children out of school, has adult and youth illiteracy rates as well as low enrollment, participation and completion rates at all levels and forms of education.
    “The concern goes on to the menace of poor performance in public examinations, regional socio-economic and gender disparities in access as well as the highly disturbing unemployable of graduates of the education system.
    “These and several other areas of concern have been the reason why i directed the minister of education to convene, with the next few weeks, a ministerial summit to be attended by all members of my cabinet, to tackle the key problems of the sector, with a view to restoring education to its lead role of human game-changer. My government will not allow the country to miss the globally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) train, the driving force of which is education.”
  • Buhari directs Ministry to convene summit on education

    Buhari directs Ministry to convene summit on education

    President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Minister of Education to convene a ministerial summit on education within the next few weeks.

    The President gave the directive on Saturday in Ilorin, in his address at the 33rd Convocation of the University of Ilorin.

    The president was represented by Prof. Abubakar Abdulrasheed, the Executive Secretary of the National University Commission (NUC).

    He explained that reason for the summit is to tackle major problem facing the education sector.

    According to Buhari, this is with a view to restore education to its lead role of human development game-changer.

    “My government will not allow the country to miss the globally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) train, the driving force of which is education.

    “Any success recorded in education will have a ripple effect on every other sector of our life,” he said.

    The President also warned against excessive display of intolerance, rancour, hostility, mutual suspicion and all such acts capable of causing social unrest in the country.

    He said: “Those who fan embers of division must refrain from the unacceptable tendencies; retrace their steps and learn to live together with one another”.

    President Buhari added that the government will only recognize legitimate aspirations of the citizens but should be done with good faith, within the bounds of rationality and without infringing on the rights of others.

    Earlier in his address of welcome, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof Sulyman Abdulkareem, reminded the graduating students that the economic climate in
    Nigeria is unfavourable.

    He said how the students comport themselves in the trying times goes a long way in testing the ideals for which the institution is known.

    “The will to win, means nothing without the will to prepare”; adding that as ambassadors of Unilorin, they must be diligence and reduce quest for materialism.

    The VC said that a total of 9,018 students graduated from the University out of which there are 89 first class, 1,932 Second Class Upper Division, 3,727 Second Class Lower Division, 1309 Third Class, 117 Pass and Two Aegrotats.

    Also speaking at the ceremony, Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara, call on the University to adjust their curriculum to meet modern day needs of labour and the world.

    Ahmed, who was represented by Dr Amina Ahmed, Kwara Commissioner for Tertiary Education, urged the graduates to be job creators rather than job seekers. (NAN)

  • 222 girls get SDGs special scholarship

    A total of 222 girls have been offered scholarship to study in various tertiary institutions in the country under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Female Special Scholarship Awards.

    They were shortlisted from 338 candidates who participated in the screening process.

    Acting Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr Adamu Hussaini ,made a symbolic presentation of the awards to successful candidates in Abuja on Monday, August 21.

    He said the award was an effort by the Federal Government to achieve the SDGs goal four tagged “Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women” by the year 2030 and beyond.

    He said the ministry would continue to build on the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2000-2015, which made gender equality a top priority.

    Hussaini enjoined states and local governments to key into the programme to afford Nigerian girls the opportunity to  access quality education.

    In a welcome address at the presentation, the Director, Federal Scholarship Board, Hajiya Natsu Aisha, said that the special scholarship programme focuses on enabling female scholars to enroll, be retained and complete tertiary education programmes at the university, polytechnic or college of education.

    Deputy Director, Nigerian Award at the Federal Scholarship Board, Mr Prinzo Nwanyadimo said that the awardees were nominated through an Inter-Ministerial Committee in February, based on their performances in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

    Nwanyadimo further explained that scholarship was only tenable in public tertiary institutions, with emphasis on nursing, medicine, laboratory science, law, technical and vocational education courses.

    “Each state was awarded two slots for university while GEP states got four slots each in polytechnics and Colleges of Education” he said.

  • UNLEASHLAB2017: 35 Nigerians join global innovators in Denmark to solve SDGs

    UNLEASHLAB2017: 35 Nigerians join global innovators in Denmark to solve SDGs

    The largest gathering of young global innovators has started in Denmark to proffer scalable solutions to seven of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) before the year 2030 deadline of the United Nations (UN).

    Organised by a European organization, UNLEASH, the global innovation lab brings 1000 professionals and global change makers from 129 countries for an integrated and scalable solution to the SDGs starting with achieving Good Health & Well-being for all, End Poverty, provide affordable & Clean Energy, Quality Education, Clean Water & Sanitation, Sustainable Cities & Communities and proactive Climate action.

    It would be recalled that for the United Nations (UN), the 2030 agenda is a plan of action for people, the Planet and posterity. The 17 SDGs and 169 targets demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal agenda as they seek to build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and complete what these did not achieve.

    Among these professionals are 35 innovative Nigerians whose works have been based on addressing the Goals.

    Helen Nneka Okpala, a Librarian at Nnamdi Azikiwe Library, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who is also a SAP Solution Architect, ESEFA Lecturer as well as YALI green Champion, noted that she plans to establish a Climate Change Club in Nigerian Schools in order to instill the knowledge of a better society in the minds of students at the higher institutions.

    Also, Oyewole Gbeminiyi who currently running his PhD Research in Industrial and Systems Engineering in South Africa said that he applied so that he could learn and relearn the new and eco-friendly ways of production in order to help save the planet from climate change.

    Gbeminiyi was admitted to the Sustainable Production and Consumption theme for UNLEASH.

    While speaking with The Nation’s correspondence in Hillerod, Denmark, Chiamaka Nwachukwu, a 500L student of the College of Health, University of Lagos (UNILAG), shared her insight as regards what she desires to make out of the innovation lab.

    According to her, “I want to build a strong network of innovative people and develop a worth-while idea as well as execute it.”

    Adebisi Adenipekun, a Pharmacist and President of Light House Global Health Initiative said: “Here in #UNLEASHLAB2017, I want to be able to create a solution to help solve supply chain and drug distribution system challenges in Nigeria.”

    Adenipekun stressed that although the initiative is targeting Nigeria, it is expected to be scalled to address same issue in other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa based on the level of success recorded in Nigeria.

    Other Nigerians on the quest to save the world starting from Nigeria include Adepeju Salu, Obi Nnewuike, Sandra Onwuekwe, Mo Thompson and Olusaola Amusan.

    Others include Boris Nwachukwu, Laz Ude Eze, Olusegun Olukoya, Amb Uju Silver, Abubakar Bashir, Abiola Ajala, Gbemisola Osaduwa, Chinenye Ezeakor to mention a few.

    Among these 35 Nigerians, only 30 are currently schooling or working in Nigeria, whose academic and (or) professional efforts are geared towards a sustainable society. Two others live in Kenya, two are working and studying in South Africa while the other one stays in the United Kingdom (UK).

  • Ekiti community gets water bays

    Ekiti community gets water bays

    Residents of Ayegbaju-Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State recently had cause to smile when six water bays constructed by a son of the soil, Mr. Michael Ale, the National President of the Association of Professional Rig Owners and Borehole Drilling Practitioners (AWDROP), were commissioned for public use during the body’s mid-term assessment meeting. The body also brainstormed on the water situation in Nigeria ans offered advice on how it can be improved. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports.

    Water is life, so says a popular and age-long axiom. But access to this essential commodity is still low in Nigeria which prides itself as the giant of Africa. Access to water and sanitation hygiene are important components of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) which Nigeria is still struggling to achieve.

    With public water supply gradually becoming a pipe dream owing to corruption and inefficiency of water corporations in the country, Nigerians are resorting to self-help to get potable water for domestic and industrial use.

    Statistics reveal that only 30 per cent of Nigerians have access to safe drinking water with the remaning 70 per cent of the population at the mercy of waterborne diseases which account for an appreciate level of mortality rate.

    It is against this background that the Association of Professional Rig Owners and Borehole Drilling Practitioners (AWDROP) converged on Ayegbaju-Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State, the hometown of its National President, Mr. Michael Ale, to brainstorm on the water situation in the country.

    The association held its midterm assessment meeting in the sleepy community which was attended by executives from all parts of the federation. Six borehole-driven water points were also commissioned as part of community development efforts of the association which are being replicated in other states.

    The meeting hosted by Ale also had in attendance National Vice President, Southwest, Alhaji Oluwatosin Yusuf; National Vice President Northwest, Alhaji Abubakar Musa and chairmen and other executive of state chapters.

    AWDROP members expressed concern about lack of patronage by governmental agencies who prefer to patronise “quacks” which they said was responsible for unresolved issues relating to provision, suply and regulation of water in Nigeria.

    Ale said AWDROP is not just lamenting the water situation but is taking the bull by the horn by drilling not less than 100 boreholes in different communities rehabilitating in Nigeria at the expense of its members to give ordinary Nigerians access to water.

    The AWDROP chief, who is a geologist with a bias for water drilling, noted that his hometown, Ayegbaju-Ekiti, was chosen as the starting point for the self-sponsorship project because “charity begins at home.”

    Ale said: “We are here in my hometown, Ayegbaju-Ekiti commissioning a water project called “Okun Inu, Eye Ode,” which means “inner strength, outer beauty.” It is part of our water in community project of the association where we are bringing to life water and rehabilitating. Abandoned and dilapidated boreholes in our communities across the country.

    “You can see a sign of Donald Trump, this is part of my campaign promise for the President of the United States of America (U.S). I had promised that I would drill about 100 boreholes in different communities in Nigeria if Donald Trump wins the election and this is being done in fulfilling that promise. We have six water points in this community as I am starting from my community. They say charity begins at home.”

    “I grew up in this community and had stayed here for a very long time without water. So, bringing the water here is a way of encouraging other communities to do this for themselves. We can all do one thing or the other for our community’s needs in terms of every social infrastructures such as water, electricity, hospital and so on.”

     

  • End discrimination, harmful practices against widows -UN Women

    End discrimination, harmful practices against widows -UN Women

    The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) has called for an end to all forms of discrimination and harmful practices against widows.

    The UN Women, in a statement for the 2017 International Widows’ Day commemorated on June 23, called for the protection of widows’ rights to independent life and livelihood.

    “Although accurate information is limited, it has been estimated that there are some 285 million widows around the world, with over 115 million of them living in deep poverty.

    “Data on women’s status are often not disaggregated by marital status, so at every level of gender statistics, from national to global, widows are not visible.

    “Yet we know that many elderly widows face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, based on their gender, age, rural location or disability.

    “Others are still young when they lose their husbands, perhaps as a result of conflict or because they were married as children to a much older man. These women face a long lifetime of widowhood.

    “Along with the shock of losing a spouse, the situation for widows is often compounded by stigma and social isolation.

    “In many countries, widows are stripped off their rights to assets such as land, income and property. Without access to social protection, they face destitution,’’ the UN Women said.

    According to the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law 2016 report, out of 173 countries, 90 per cent have at least one law limiting women’s economic participation, including constraints on their ability to inherit or own land.

    The UN Women said repealing these discriminatory laws was not only ethical but  a mandate of the Sustainable Development Goals as the first target of Goal 5 is to `end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere’.

    Action on these could impact the lives of millions of widows who are currently dependent on their husbands for their livelihoods, the UN agency said.

    The UN Women pledged its commitment to working with Member States and civil society to ensure the rights of widows.

    “This includes providing women with information on access to a fair share of their inheritance, land and productive resources; pensions and social protection that are not based on marital status alone; decent work and equal pay; and education and training opportunities.

    “Widows must be empowered to support themselves and their families. This also means addressing social stigmas that create exclusion, and discriminatory or harmful practices.

    “Such stigma include those in Togo, where a widow can be required to undergo a period of isolation and imprisonment, purification ceremonies to ‘cut the link’ with her deceased husband, and pressed to remarry.

    “The Sustainable Development Goals call on all of us to include those who are at risk of being left behind.

    “Let us work to ensure that all widows have the opportunity to build a new life after personal loss,’’ the UN Women said.

    The UN agency said that women had inviolable rights that were not dependent on anyone else stressing they must be able to enjoy those rights whether they are single, married, separated or widowed.

  • Vaccines: Nurses want resuscitation of research centers

    The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), have urged the Federal Government to equip health facilities with adequate vaccines to help increase the rate of immunisation against vaccine-preventable diseases.

    The association also advocated for compulsory immunisation of all health workers.

    Mrs Oluyemisi Adelaja, Chairman, NANNM, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Chapter, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

    She spoke against the backdrop of the 2017 World Immunisation Week which ended on April 28.

    NAN reports that World Immunisation Week takes place annually during the last week of April.

    It is a global public health campaign aimed at raising awareness on the importance of immunisation against vaccine-preventable diseases and its role in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

    The week, which is also aimed at increasing the rates of immunisation has the theme for 2017 as “Vaccines Work’’.

    Adelaja said: “Some of the vaccines used in the country are expensive because they are imported.

    “Government should resuscitate our research centers and fund them adequately; this way, they can do more research by using plants that are available in the country to invent vaccines.

    “Such invented vaccines can be available, affordable and effective in combating these diseases.

    “The funds allocated for vaccines by governments are not enough and the funds donated by NGOs are mismanaged by the people in charge; either by diverting the fund or procuring the ones that are almost expiring.

    “Also, government at all levels should provide adequate protective medical consumables and gadgets to both federal and state hospitals, as well as primary health centres’’.

    She said there was need to sensitise health officers on vaccines and immunisation, as well as get them to be immunised.

    “Health workers should be adequately sensitised and be given necessary vaccination as at when due to protect them, their families and all citizens.

    “They are on the field and are at risk of contracting diseases.

    “Most of the health officers engaged for immunisation do not have adequate knowledge about the cold chain system and the importance of vaccines.

    “They also lack the knowledge of maintenance of proper cold chain, thereby reducing the potency of the vaccines; this is majorly because quacks or incompetent staffs are recruited to administer the vaccines.’’

    Adelaja condemned some unwholesome practices by some health officers.

    “There are also sharp practices that need to be stopped; some health officers collect vaccines from health centres and sell to private hospitals.

    “Some even hide somewhere to fill the forms with fake names and information which they present as the report or statistics.

    “These have to be identified and addressed,’’ she said.

    Also speaking, Mr Olurotimi Awojide, Chairman of NANNM, Lagos State Chapter, said that the major challenges facing immunisation in Nigeria were misconceptions in some parts of the country.
    According to him, most people were not well educated on the importance and need to be immunised.

    He condemned the practice where parents withheld their children and did not present them for immunisation.

    “The aim of the immunisation is to ensure a global infection-free society, especially in children.

    “Immunisation is a process of ensuring that children become resistant to infection agents which is usually achieved through the use of vaccines.

    “Governments, especially our donors are trying their best to ensure that children are immunised against all childhood killer diseases.

    “We still need more funds for the vaccines, competent staff and more awareness on the benefits of immunisation , especially in children.’’

    Awojide appealed to health workers in charge of vaccination to always be guided by the ethics of the profession to achieve an infection-free society.

    “I am appealing for this, based on unconfirmed anti-professional activities of some health workers.

    “The outbreak of meningitis and its attendant loss of lives should be a great lesson for all of us.

    “ People should seek medical attention on time for prompt treatment and to prevent the spread of diseases.

    “Apart from immunisation, we should also maintain good environmental and personal hygiene,’’ Awojide said.

  • Two billion people drinking contaminated water – WHO

    Two billion people drinking contaminated water – WHO

     

    The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday warned that two billion people are drinking water contaminated with faeces, which is estimated to cause more than 500,000 diarrheal deaths each year.

    Dr Maria Neira, director of Department of Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants of Health in WHO, said in a statement that contaminated water puts people at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid.

    Neira also said that drinking of contaminated water not only also puts people at risk of and polio, but is a major cause of several neglected tropical diseases, including intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and trachoma as well.

    In a new report, WHO also said that such a situation shows that countries are not increasing spending fast enough to meet the water and sanitation targets under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    WHO published the report on behalf of UN-Water, the United Nation inter-agency coordination mechanism for all freshwater-related issues, including sanitation.

    SDGs were adopted by UN General Assembly in 2015, setting a series of aspirational targets for eradicating poverty and boosting human well-being, which aim to ensure universal access to safe and affordable water and sanitation by 2030.

    A report published by UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water revealed that countries had on average raised their annual budgets for water, sanitation and hygiene by 4.9 per cent over the past three years.

    Yet, 80 per cent of countries acknowledge that their financing is still not enough to meet their nationally-set targets for water, sanitation and hygiene services.